The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-05-23
A BAG WITH HOLES.
ny ROSE TERRY COOK.
rsprinpneld Union

klJcnen, knitting. Sne nau Ilsht w Slt
there, for she paid her boardpunctually, hay-
ing means" as the neighbors said, 49,
What the Powers would have done wlth-
out her board to help them, they could not
think-now they had It'll Yet before Mrs;
Potter's Uncle Ebenezer died they had lived
Just as many other people. live. Uncle EDen
had never helped his niece at all since he
gave her a modest outfit and hundred dol
lars In cash, when she married Rowley Pot
ter, young fellow who was getting good
wages in the great rife factory. at ID:
Louisa was pretty, capable, bright girl
then; but that was twenty years ago. Now
she was a thin, sallow, fretful woman. Pot
ter stlll worked in the rifle shop. as they
called 1t, but he had only dollar a day more
wages than when he was married, and there
were four children. Lofty, eighteen years old,
pretty, pert and vain, worked In hosiery
store. Tom, sixteen, was in nut-and-bolt
shop; Idalla, a girl Of fourteen, was cash
girl, in Holmes IL Harper's great dry goods
store. Tom and Lofty paid their board,
Idly" clothed herself, she could get bargains
promoted into ''sales lady" she would pay
like the others. The fourth child, little
school.
When Aunt Pratt was left widow she
made up her mind to sell the farm and board
somewhere; she had no children, but she did
have rheumatism enough to tire her with its
aches and stiffness more than family of the
noisiest boys and girls could have tired her.
The farm was good one, Well improved,
the house and barns in thorough repair, and
there were six cows and two horses, as well
as plenty of farming implements. She got
$4,000 for the whole. The neighbors said it
was worth more; the buyer said it was
worth less, so Shrewd Aunt Pratt c0nSld-
cred the price fair.
Then there was $500 in Dalton bank, the
slow accumulation of butter and egg money
and the sale Of poultry and calves; 5000 In
all, and every cent Of it her own. Squire
Hart Of Dalton, who was executor OF the
will, invested the money in safe ways at six
per cent, and Mrs. Pratt began to look about
her for home. She knew that Louisa Pot
ter had felt hurt about her Uncle Pratt S
will; he only left to her her grandmother's
mahogany furniture and the savings pank
book in which he had deposited the profits
made out of the Friesland hens and the white
heifer calf she left in his hands when She
married-a sum amounting to 500 now.
But Louisa and her husband had expected
more, and Mrs. Pratt was just woman, ca
pable of understanding other peoples feel
ings; so she did not wonder. After much
thought, and without any suggestion from
them, she proposed to come into III. and
board with Louisa. So they gave up to her
Lotty's front bedroom, and put Lofty in with
Ida; and as they cooked and ate in the same
room where they sat at evening, Aunt Pratt S
rocker, her footstool, her small round table
and her work basket were established in the
sunny south window, where she could look
down into the street and up into the sky for
this tenement was on corner, and the Pot
tiers had the third story fiat.
1t was great change for Aunt Pratt, but
she was a woman brought up in the old New
England fashion to do what she perceived to
be q duty, however unpleasant and painful,
without shrinking or complaint, and she had
made up her mind that 1t was her duty to
help the Potters.
She missed the fresh air of the farm, the
quiet of her own house, the new milk, the
sweet butter, the good bread but she said
nothing as she sat day after. day, in her
window knitting or mending, her big Bible
open on the stand, and her thoughts very
busy with the things around her, as we'll as
with the things that are above. For Aunt
Pratt had made resolution 70 leave ner
money in the way it would do her relatives
the most good and she must study them and
their customs before she could discover what
that way way. She soon found out that they
were always in debt. Potter had good
wages, Lofty and Tom were off his hands,
was inheritOr Of Toms old clothes and his
fathers too. 1t seemed to Aunt Pratt that
there must be a leak somewhere that she did
not discover at once.
She was reading her Bible IN course, and
one day came upon verse IN the prophecy
of Haggai that seemed to explain the sltua-
ton to her, and opened her eyes. The next
day Lofty came in shivering; she had caught
severe cold and huddled over the cook steve
wrapped in an old shawl. .coughed and
sighed and scolded all day, till she was too
hoarse 10 speak.
'Have you got on your winter flannels?"
asked Aunt Pratt, for it was November.
"..tElaannels2 guess not haven't any,"
swell, poor folks can't have everything
I'D got to have winter suit, and there was
such lovely one at the Boston store; a satin
petticoat, with drapery.of mels-hair-imi-
tation, | mean, but awful pretty--and real
splendid lid basque satin vest ana g iit buttons;
swell and no mistake; but couldn't afford
soft fiannels after that"
as it thick dressP" queried Aunt Pratt
''No, not very; not so thick as this shop
dress; but don't mind that. l amt cold
blooded."
"And your shoes, are they thick?"
'Oh, they're just cheap boots; thick soles
do cost so. My best ones are French kid
with lovely high heels. They can't have
thick soleS."
"And have you warm petticoat9"
"Mercyl / don't want to be all bumped up
with things? I've got an old felt skirt, and
striped cambria for every day, and four
white Ones trimmed with edglng."
Aunt Pratt shook her head
"a hole in the bag A hole in the bag!"
she said sadly.
stopped the words, and left Lotty's chest so
sore she did not finish her question.
She was so i'll that night doctor was sent
fora young man round the corner, just be-
ginning practice, therefore cheaper than a
man of experience. He at once proceeded to
blister his patient and give her anthony.
Low delirium set in, and for six weeks Lofty
was unable to leave her bed, and for month
more she could not go to work. Bills came
in to twice the amount of the blue dress's
price, and could not be paid
"Oh, what hole in the bagw sighed Aunt
Pratt.
When Lofty was little better, her father
him in the street-a flaming advertisement
of the Black Crook performance.
Say, Lou, don't you want to go to this to-
night? It's month O. Sundays since We've
had lark; let's CO." he said. tossing the
play bill into his wife's lap
'0h, pa" screamed ldglla, take me. Oh,
do! Now, won't you?"
Nine too," sqeaked Dayy, who had a
hoarse cold.
"oh, shut upr' snapped Potter. 81 don't
want two babies taggin' at my heels. Some
body's got to stay with Lott"
why, there's Aunt Pratt" said Ida.
maybe she'd like to go; would you,
aunty?' asked Potter, blandly. He had a
mind to keep the right side Of woman with
''means."
"MeP' said the old lady, with a stern re-
proof in her voice and face. me go to such
place? No indeed"
"WelI, well! everybody to their mind.
like bit of fun first rate, now and then.
We 60 quite considerable, first and last; a
body must be amused"
80, fatherw put in Mrs. Potter, urged by
the whispered teasing and cross faces OF Ida
and Dayy; do take them children along
Ida hasn't been nowhere since Lott was
took sick and Davy's only boy. Let him
have a good time while that he can; his
troubles will come fast enough before long.
Now, do let 'em gov
swell, guess they can. Lott won't want
'em if Aunt Pratt's here"
So at night he came home with four tickets
TO the performance, a bag Of peanuts and a
paper of candy, and they set out to enjoy
themselves. Tom had announced at noon
that he was "goin' to take his girl"
Aunt Pratt groaned in spirit Another
hole in the bag, and big one!' she said to
herself.
When would the doctors bill and the debts
at the drug store and the grocer's ever be
paid?
Aunt Pratt had always lived in the coun
try and been honest. She had no experienced
of the class who crowd our theaters, min
strel halls and circuses, who buy cheap finery
and expensive, poor beer and bad butter
but never pay their rent, or lay up one penny
in all their lives.
AS the spring came on Aunt Pratt noticed
one day that Potter looked disguised witt
his dinner, and Lofty left hers untasted. M
wonderl Aunt Pratt could not eat it her
self The potatoes were poor, and boiled
to a watery, insipid mass the calves livel
ltd - IIaoG loafharu cuhctannn. thf